Leading in Times of the Coronavirus: How Emotional Management will Help your Team

Teleworking has become a necessity for thousands of companies and employees during this
coronavirus crisis. Given this reality, leadership takes on another meaning and dimension,
evolving towards a more humane management style, and focused on managing emotions, to help
teams and contribute to the global growth of the company and its talents during confinement.

Here are some tips to be empathetic leaders and capable of managing emotions:

Proactive and transparent communication

The first recommendation revolves around the fluid and constant communication of the leader
with his employees. The current confinement forces the teams to work from their homes, and
therefore, isolated from their colleagues and from the updates that concern their companies.
That is why, as a leader, you must compensate for this lack of contact with daily and fluid
communications with the work teams, either through video calls or chat. The first thing is to send
messages, first of tranquility in the face of the situation, second of encouragement to your
employees, and third of continuity of work and productivity.

Collaborators will appreciate your virtual presence, and the ability to be transparent and honest
in these times. If they feel supported, and know the news of the company daily, they will feel
more committed and emotionally secure to carry out daily tasks from home.

Ask and listen actively

Attitude management is key to coping with a crisis like that of the coronavirus. Ask them, “what
can I personally do to improve this situation?” and act accordingly with your team members.
Having video calls with collaborators, asking them actively and openly how they feel, or
proposing collective group dynamics to share experiences or feelings can help to improve this
feeling of collective isolation.

Your role as a leader has changed

As a Manager or Responsible Person, the first thing you must understand is that your role has
also changed.
In the current situation, the feeling of lack of control can be very uncomfortable for leaders.
The level of responsibility and self-demand that many of them impose themselves is
immeasurable, so they must be aware that the current situation is supervening, and that unlike
other occasions, it may not depend on them that the team is well and has all the resources
necessary to continue operating.

Occupational balance

As a leader, you must also keep track of the volume of tasks assumed by each member of your
team, including yours.
Occupational balance is the subjective experience that a person has of the number of occupations
he develops throughout the day and of his daily life, the variation of these and the satisfaction
with the time he dedicates to each of them.
In this sense, the leader must ensure that everyone performs a balanced daily routine made up of
activities that are meaningful to the person, adjusted to their abilities and needs and related to the demands imposed by their environment, in this case, a physical environment that is reduced solely to home.

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